Conditions:Hastings Canyon-20231029214357

Latest:	29 Oct 2023 (1 yr, 2 mos ago)

Reported by:	Jcsjcs (109 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	3 hours

Team: 2 people

Trip report URL:

Comments: Thanks to everyone who worked on the approach trail. The approach is a breeze now and only took 1:20 from the trailhead to the drop-in. We did about 6 rappels and many downclimbs. The canyon is almost entirely brush-free and with its multitude of interesting features deserves to be a trade route! The trail through the bamboo removes the former bushwhacking challenge from the exit.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
29 Oct 2023	Great	Dry		Normal	3 hours	2 people	Jcsjcs (109 reports)
Comment: Thanks to everyone who worked on the approach trail. The approach is a breeze now and only took 1:20 from the trailhead to the drop-in. We did about 6 rappels and many downclimbs. The canyon is almost entirely brush-free and with its multitude of interesting features deserves to be a trade route! The trail through the bamboo removes the former bushwhacking challenge from the exit.
4 Feb 2023	Ok	Very Low	None	Normal	7 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Eshi-1 (31 reports)
Comment: This canyon has a lot of potential and it is action packed with 12-13 rappels and 10+ downclimbs. Approach: Not amazing. Climbing up from Bailey sucks and the dropin is steep, crumbly and unnecessary. There's another way to approach it that seems like it may be much better. Maybe I'll work on it one of these days. Anchors: We had to replace several but all drops have clear, visible good anchors. Exit: The exit is very brushy and needs some serious work! Help? Anyone who is willing to go put in some gardening and trail work - please contact me to coordinate. Eshed
25 Jun 2022	Ok	Dry		Normal	6 hours	1 people	Rapbear (73 reports)
Comment: Not as easy to get to compared to Bailey but worth trying it out. Thanks to Willie and team for making the canyon approach and anchors much nicer. The approach is easier to identify, just look for the trimmed bushes/trees and the convenient markings (see picture) of where to go. Hitting the drop in point via the ridge was slow and hot. Be sure to bring lots of water. Gully was easy to drop into if you follow the wiki coordinates and go straight down. If you see trimmed/broken bushes, you are on the right track. Watch out for snakes as I encountered a baby rattler in the drop in point (attached). Most of the anchors are in good shape. Only had to ghost one drop as I couldn't find the anchor. There are lots of annoying thorny/pokey plants that like to get attached to your pants, socks, and shoes. I spent a lot of time pulling them out throughout the descent. At the end, you will follow a small stream through bamboo that is mostly trimmed but I had to push my way through some parts. As you straddle the stream, your shoes might get wet if you aren't careful. Overall, I'm glad I was able to do this canyon. Need to bring some more water on such hot days.
13 May 2022	Good	Dry	None	Special challenges	6 hours	2 people	Willie92708 (973 reports)
Comment: We spent extra time rebuilding old anchors (special challenges) and bit of PO pruning too. Overall, the canyon is in good shape to run now, and the approach trail is awesome. It's just a few old anchors that need webbing replacement. The spring it still flowing nicely, about a full garden hose worth.
26 Apr 2022	Good	Dry	None	Special challenges	6 hours	2 people	Willie92708 (973 reports)
Comment: With the trail to the ridge ready, we ran the canyon and worked on brush and anchors in the canyon (special challenges) which took hours of extra time. The canyon overall has little brush problems, mostly deadfall, a few thick spots (we trimmed) and some serious poison oak clusters too (trimmed back too). We quickly gave up on trying to fix old anchors as we ghosted a number of rappels. We did completely dig up the old boulder anchor and pull out the 5 pieces of old webbing (pic rappel from that boulder). Some rappels have (or had) multiple anchors for the same drop. Overall the canyon is a pretty easy run, although it's fairly long hiking wise and has a number of downclimbs. The longer rappels are good quality, and generally near vertical. The bamboo at the spring is insanely thick, but we cut an easy path through on the right side. With one more "clean up" run to trim more PO and replace all the anchors, Hastings will be ready for general consumption! :)
22 Apr 2022				Special challenges		2 people	Willie92708 (973 reports)
Comment: 3 hours x 2 people of Hasting approach trail work
15 Apr 2022				Special challenges		1 people	Willie92708 (973 reports)
Comment: 5 hours of Hasting approach trail work
5 Nov 2021	Good	Dry			3 hours	1 people	Jcsjcs (109 reports)
Comment: Night run. After leaving Bailey trail, tried to stay in gulleys most of the way to the ridgetop and then followed animal trails. Approach took 1:40. Slide down to canyon was quite steep at times. Did about seven rappels in the canyon; all anchors in good condition. Canyon was quite brush-free and easy to move through other than a brutal bamboo forest after the spring near the bottom which required a lot of wriggling in a sort of tunnel that had been hacked, but was mercifully short.
14 Jan 2021				Special challenges		1 people	Willie92708 (973 reports)
Comment: After 2 hours of Hasting approach trail work in temps approach 90F I was overheated. January in Socal, go figure. :)
18 Feb 2018	Ok	Dry	None	Normal		2 people Intermediate	Kenglaze (8 reports)
Comment: Lots of bushwhacking and scrambling through dry brush on the approach, no obvious trail to follow. Very slow moving up the hill and through the brush. All anchors were in reasonable shape but clearly webbing had not been changed out recently. The rappels are not worth all the extra effort expended on the approach considering you have to essentially pass the Baily Canyon drop in point on the way up the hill for the same reward that Baily Canyon offers.
28 Sep 2016	Ok	Dry	None	Special challenges	7 hours	3 people Intermediate	Owensstu (5 reports)
Comment: Night-time run, and first time any of us had done this route. The brush was very heavy heading up to the ridge from Bailey, and exposed skin received many scratches. We tried dropping down into the canyon too early and got cliffed out; we set up a 100ft rappel that put us pretty close to the gully, which we followed to reach Hastings. The canyon was dry and dusty, and very overgrown. The section of the spring with the bamboo forest was a nice scenery change.
30 Dec 2015	Ok	Dry	None	Special challenges	5 hours	4 people Intermediate to Expert	Mark9fiji (29 reports)
Comment: Approach was brushy but not too bad. Several downclimbs with great views primarily held at the peak. I wouldn't recommend it.